by Sandra Lang
A quarter cycle after the celebration the village begins preparing for the Great Hunt. The whales always return to the cool northern waters to eat and replenish their own food stores at the end of spring. When they return, the warriors go out in the boats in hopes of catching one. If the spirits bless us, we will be given a whale that will feed the entire community for the winter to come. When the moon will be highest in the sky in a full cycle’s time, the warriors will depart. Until then, we will work on repairing the boats and fixing spears.
Father, Uncle Pilar, and my cousins Aros and Reven leave early each morning to the work house near Deep Forest. Pilar and Aros work on repairing any damage the boats may have suffered during the winter while my father teaches Reven the tradition our House is known for: making weapons. Eventually I will make my way there and hand over the rocks that will be used to make the spears. Granny, Aunt Ruki, and Mother also work by cutting the last of the animal skin into long strips used to tie the sharpened spear heads to the shafts.
I walk off to visit with Natoak, the village Shaman, rather than make leather strips. We only recently re-started my lessons. With my accident hindering my ability to move, I was not able to hobble up to his hut just beyond the northern border of our village.
The river courses smoothly as I walk next to it. Birds call from the trees. Twigs snap as deer and other animals move about the forest. Serenity washes over me to calm my spirit, but it does nothing to still my mind.
Last night I had dreams of being a bird locked away. The cage I was in was small and dark. I could stretch my wings, but I could not fly. I was afraid. I was in pain. I was alone.
The dream left such fear in my heart that I woke up frightened of the darkness. I had gone outside and sat on the edge of the platform just to see the stars to remind myself that I was not in a cage, that I was free. I did not sleep the rest of the night. Even after I returned to my bed, I was scared to close my eyes. I was scared of what else might be lurking beyond in the dream world.
Natoak sits in his herb garden tending to the plants when I walk up. He looks up, smiles and then stands. “It is good to see that you are walking, Akari.”
“Oh you know me. Only a singed foot can keep me away.”
He laughs gently. “Care for some tea? You look like you could use something to still your mind.”
I nod and follow him inside his hut. He pours boiling water onto the tea leaves and hands the cup over to me.
“Now, Moon Child, what is on your mind?” He sits next to me with his own cup in his hands.
“How do you know anything is on my mind, Natoak?” I ask innocently.
“I have been doing this since before your parents were born, child. Do not think for a second that I cannot read you like I can read the stars.”
I sigh heavily. I knew the answer before asking the question. “I had a strange dream and I have not slept since I had it.”
“Tell me about it.”
So I do. He listens quietly and thinks about what I am telling him. If anyone will know the meaning of what I dreamt, it will be him.
“And I could not go back to sleep because I felt like something was waiting for me. Waiting just inside the darkness where I could not see it.”
“What feeling did you get from it?”
“Unease. My stomach is in knots just thinking about it.”
“Okay, Akari. You need to clear your mind while you drink your tea.”
I do as he says and let my thoughts come and go. My dream continues to resurface again and again. I guess this is what the tea leaves will tell me about.
When I have drained my cup and glance into it, I begin reading out the symbols that jump out at me. Natoak does not speak for a while. He closes his eyes and sips his tea. When he is finished, he performs the same ritual I did. He peers into his own cup and sighs.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I am afraid, Akari, with your dream and the omens in both our cups, that we will have problems this season.”
“So what do we do?”
He takes the cup from my hand and sets it aside with his. “We keep our eyes open and stay alert. There are many things that can happen in this world and the future is not always certain. These gifts we possess are not always gifts, you understand. Sometimes it is just best to let the events unravel so that we can fully understand the situation before us.”
“I am not going to find myself in a cage, am I?”
He shakes his head with a smile pulling at his lips. “Dreams are warnings, Akari. Rarely are they visions of the future.”
Relief washes over me. If Natoak is not concerned about it, then I will try not to be as well.
After a shared midday meal, I walk back down to the village and toward the work house. I watch as Namira catches sight of Tarok and immediately walks up to him. I hold back a giggle as she tries to get his attention focused on her. Poor girl. She has to realize that Tarok does not pay attention to her. She has to know how silly she looks as she throws herself at the future Chief. I pity her, but not enough to feel sorry for her.
Tarok’s eyes meet mine over her head. I nod and continue walking. I do not chance a glance back at him, reminding myself that we are only friends. War is raging between both sides of my head. One hoping he will stay away, the other hoping he will come to me. No! I shout mentally. It does not matter what he does; he only wants to be friends with the Wise Woman. A heavy hand grabs my shoulder, spins me around, and settles the battle in my head.
“Wise Woman, I have been looking for you.” All business, see?
“Well, here I am. What do you need?” I say as coolly as possible in an attempt to keep myself distant.
“I went to see your father this morning.” My heart jumps into my throat. “He said that if I wanted another spear I would have to speak with you about a stone.”
That is when I notice he has a stone in one hand and holds it up for me to see. I grab the back of his hand and use it to hold the rock up for closer inspection. Even though I have done this with other warriors too many times to count, I feel the butterflies invade my stomach. Just the feel of his skin is enough to make my head airy and my body light.
With a mental shake, I bring my attention to where it belongs and focus. “No,” I say dropping my hold on his hand. “This is wrong.”
“What do you mean?” The disappointment is evident in his voice.
“It is wrong. You will have to find another.”
“What is wrong about it?” His tone turns serious and in an instant he is the son of the Chief and not my friend in the least.
I grab the rock from his hand. “Follow me.”
We walk to the break in silence and up to a large rock. He is not pleased with me, but curious all the same. I place the rock onto the larger one then grab another and swing it downward. The rock Tarok brought to me is crushed into smaller pieces.
“You see these?” I pick up a few and hold them out in my open palm. “These are what will get you killed. These will allow your prey to escape. You will not go on the Hunt until you have given me a rock that does not do this.” I turn my palm over to drop the shards and walk away from him.
A small part of me feels satisfied. He wants a relationship between the Wise Woman and the Chief, well he has one now. Yet, an even smaller part of me is asking for forgiveness for Akari from Tarok. I know it is less likely but I hold onto it. Unfortunately for the both of us, the Wise Woman comes before Akari and the future Chief comes before Tarok.
Tarok comes to me repeatedly throughout the day and each stone he presents becomes steadily worse. Each time I tell him so and each time he walks away a little angrier.
Evening falls when Father, Pilar, Aros, Reven, and I walk back to Sharp Stone. A warrior from Deep Forest the same age as Tarok approaches us, nods to the men and then speaks to me.
“Wise Woman, may I have a moment?”
“Of course, Harod, what do you need?”
He fidgets slightly. Nervousness boils off of him. He waits u
ntil the four men have begun to walk away before answering. “I… um… I noticed, well many of us have,” he mumbles, “that you are spending a lot of-”
This is just what I need right now. I stop him speaking with a raised hand. “Harod, if you are asking if I am intended to the future Chief, you surely would have heard this announced. The future Chief and I have a relationship based on our positions within the tribe, not based on anything personal. Is there anything else you wanted?”
Relief passes over him and the nervousness he approached me with vanishes. He sheepishly holds out a stone. I look down at his hand, then back up to meet his eyes.
“You can tell the future Chief that this stone will not work.”
“H-how did you know?”
“Where is he?” Harod points to the break where all of our stones are gathered. I sigh and turn toward Tarok’s direction.
I find him sitting and looking out at the ocean in the bay. “Does asking Harod to bring me a stone ever work?” I say. He turns his head and looks up at me. “No, it does not. And if such a person is to ask Harod or any other warrior to do that for him again, both the asker and the warrior will not go on the Hunt.”
Tarok grimaces. “You do not have the power to deny me the Hunt.”
“And you do not have the power to force my hand. If you do not take this selection seriously, then I can do nothing for you.”
“Are you doing this because you are mad at me?” he snaps, standing up to stare me down.
Tonight his glare does not bother me. I stand straighter and give him my own hardened look. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“Because I told you I only wanted to be friends with you.”
My eyes widen before narrowing. “I do not see how that has any bearing on the present situation.”
“You women always get angry when something does not go your way and you hold it over the denier’s head.”
“I am not holding anything over your head. What you do with your personal life is your business, Tarok. I will not have your death hanging over my head because I allowed a spear to be made of a rock with no spirit.”
“Spirits?”
This is my tipping point. I have been standing on the brink of outrage and now he has pushed me over it. I tumble head first into the disappointing cave of realization that is quickly flooded by the ugly truth of it all. He barely remembers me and anything I said to him before I left to become the Wise Woman of our tribe. I knew this before, from the interesting day when I thought he might like me back, but it still leaves a deep gash within my heart.
I want to scream and shout abuse at him. I want to push him to the ground and yell at him until he remembers everything I have ever said to him; until he remembers that because of him I am the Wise Woman.
Instead, I gain my composure as I take a few steps away from him and pause. “I do not think we should be friends.”
“Why not?” he asks.
“Why should we be?” My hands shake slightly in front of me. Stay strong, I think repeatedly to reassure myself. “You have enough friends and like you said, people will start talking. They already are.”
“But we know the truth of it.”
“Do we?” I ask. “Do you know anything about me other than the common knowledge that I am the Wise Woman?”
His silence confirms my words.
I feel the energy pulsating around me. I look down at the rocky ground beneath my feet. Kneeling down, I grab a stone that is perfect in length and weight. The energy emanating from it is invigorating.
I turn, step up to him, grab his hand palm up, and put the stone in it. “Here. This is all you wanted from me, is it not?” I feel the same flutter in my stomach when his fingers close around the rock and my hand. “I think things were better when you did not know I existed.”
Chapter Seven
